Louisville Basketball: The good, the bad, the ugly: Michigan St.

I anxiously waited tip off of Louisville basketball and #9 ranked Michigan State at the KFC Yum! Center. I had no idea what I was in store for.

Following a strong but winless showing in the NIT Season Tip Off I was not too nervous leading up to Louisville basketball’s big matchup with Michigan State. I knew coming off a close loss to Tennessee and a heartbreaking finish in the Marquette game the Cards really needed this win and was interested to see how this team would respond.

The starting lineup was tinkered some with VJ King coming off the bench, the first time since his freshman year. Hopefully this lights a fire under VJ and we see him answer back with some big numbers soon.

When the game started with an Enochness Monster 3 pointer I started to feel #Cardsby90. Unfortunately about 90 seconds after that Enoch three, the big man went to the bench with 2 fouls and would go on to only play seven minutes.

If you would have told me Enoch would only play seven minutes and that 3 point shot would be his only basket and the Cards were still going to upset the #9 team in the country I do not think I would have believed you. I have said it here before but this team seems very cohesive and completely bought into the Coach Mack and coaching staffs plan. This team is going to be scary good as the season goes on.

Let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good: Louisville’s Own Dwayne Sutton 

The epitome of toughness and hustle is Dwayne Sutton. He finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds and just did everything right. Sutton hit some clutch three pointers in crucial moments and played great defense all night. Boxing out grabbing boards, hustling for every lose ball, and leading the team in toughness, Dwayne has earned his starting spot and really sets the tone and plays hard every minutes he is on the floor. We should all be thankful Sutton came home to be a Cardinal.

We cannot move on from the good without mentioning Ryan “McMayan” McMahon. Dude came off the bench and led the team with 24 points, including some insanely clutch three’s and icing the game from the free throw line when MSU just would not go away in overtime.

This team is much deeper than what I expected them to be an biggest surprise again is veteran journeyman Akoy Agau who again gave 10 quality minutes in a time that both Enoch and Malik WIlliams were on the bench in foul trouble.

While finishing with just 2 points and 4 boards it was the countless times he didn’t leave his feet on defense, blocked/deflected/altered shots, and fought hard for those 4 rebounds.

Let’s also send some 502 love to the defensive bulldog Kwan Fore. No one was getting around Fore, he’s  the guy Mack can put in to shut down the others team best player.

The Bad: TV Ted Valentine

Man how does this still have a job officiating games for the NCAA? From his strut to his obvious bad calls anyone with a pulse can tell good ol’ TV Ted tried to makes games about him. The stand out to me are the calls on Steven Enoch. In every game so far this season it feels like Enoch gets calls against him just for having the most NBA body on the floor. There was also some standout bad calls on Khwan Fore. Luckily these calls did not effect the outcome of the game but I think I speak for us all when I say the uptick in foul calls this season seems a big much, overtime in this game became a free throw shooting contest and luckily McMahon had ice in his veins and Coach Mack had a few choices words for TV Ted at the end of regulation that rhymes with “tuck brew”

The Ugly: Closing Out Games

Just like in New York City during the NIT season tip off, Louisville seems to abandon the offense late in games and go isolation, leading to bad shots. There was some lucky bounces and missed free throws by Michigan State that left the door open for the Cards and luckily they capitalized on them. The lead was as high as 12 at one point for Louisville and it seemed like instead of them keeping their foot on MSU’s neck and running the offensive scheme that was working, they settled for bad three point shots or contested layups. Too much dribbling and not enough ball movement but I have complete faith in this coaching staff that this will be resolved sooner than later.

In closing I have to say hats off to Card Nation. I watched the game from home and the KFC Yum! Center environment came across as amazing on television. Not to mention The Villens, led by our own Ethan Sprowles, were incredible and deserved every bit of love they received.

This is the type of crowd Coach Mack wants. When he said he wants YUM rocking I believe the MSU game crowd is exactly what he had had in mind. I spent most of my Wednesday sick in bed watching the video of Mack entering the locker room to celebrate on a loop over and over again.

Up next for the Cards is an always tough Seton Hall team on the road on Saturday. Hopefully the Michigan State upset carried over and the Cards pick up a quality road win against an old Big East foe.

Go Cards!